This Means War
Many of the comedies staring Reese Witherspoone are quite fun.This Means War, however, is painful to watch. Reese plays a marketing manager who has fallen on romantic dry land. A friend put her profile on dating site. So far so good as hook. But then it becomes painful. Two guys who are working as James Bond’s at the CIA start dating and competing for her. In the process they are using to resources of the CIA on each other’s dates. This is a comedy that is laim.
The Artist
Recently a friend watched a film that I had seen before. I did not see it but only heard the dialogue through the speakers in an adjacent room. It quickly became obvious that without the pictures films don’t work. The Artist, however, shows that even decades after sound movies (talkies) displaced silent films, it is possible to make a silent movie. Moving pictures itself works. The Artist is a wonderful piece of art set in Hollywood just ask the talkies are luring movie goers away from the silent films. A big star of the silent movies meets a young nobody who has charms that his rich wife is missing. And now the drama starts.
Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass reinvents the superhero genre (Spiderman, Batman, etc.) by making fun of the genre but also working with it. The film is billed as a comedy. There are a large number of funny scenes that will make you laugh. But at times it also falls back on the genre that it makes fun off, given us a very entertaining action film. If you are faced with the choice of seeing the next Spiderman movie or Kick-Ass, I am confident that Kick-Ass is going to be more fun.
The Election is fought over economic philosophy
David Brooks is providing the best possible interpretations what Republican intentions are all about. Instead of picking Spain and Greece he could have cited the Northern European countries which have been quite successful in reforming their welfare states. He notes correctly that Barak Obama outlined a very different position that economics policies will bring new prosperity to average American. I think that Obama is correct and hope that a majority of Americans will agree in November.
What Republicans Think
By DAVID BROOKS (NY Times)
Democrats frequently ask me why the Republicans have become so extreme. As they describe the situation, they usually fall back on some sort of illness metaphor. Republicans have a mania. President Obama has said that Republicans have a “fever” that he hopes will break if he is re-elected.
Monster Inc
Monster Inc was made before Finding Nemo, which was the first Pixar film I ever saw. Monster Inc is cute and is fueled by the imaginary power that we are used to from Pixar. But I did not feel as touched by the film as I did by all the others. But it is a very good film for the family. Calling your kid “a little monster” takes on a whole new meaning after watching this film.
Roman Holiday
Mark Zuckerberg allegedly is spending is honey moon in Rome right now. If you are thinking you can can follow in his footsteps by watching Roman Holiday, you will be disappointed. The film did not age well. Our eyes need more than a princess who wants to break out her cage for a day by strolling through Rome with a dashing newspaper man. The last 10 minutes of the film give it some redeeming quality. Andrey Hepburn probably won the Oscar for these ten minutes, in which her face does an amazing acting job.If you are in mood for a romantic comedy, watch Pretty Womaninstead.
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Breakfast at Tiffany has receive higher ratings than in my mind it deserved. It is a love story with a cute cat and an always beautiful-to-watch Audrey Hepburn. But that is about it. Watch the wonderful My Fair Lady if you want to see Hepburn and experience a much deeper story. My Review of My Fair Lady.
When the US shrank in the 19th century
The internet today is removing barriers between people living in different places. The railroads were one of the technologies (telegraph and telephone were others) that this for 19th century. The Writer’s Almanac reports:
The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed on this date in 1869. The project had been discussed since the 1830’s when Europeans were settling in California in increasing numbers, but people couldn’t decide on the best route. Some argued for a central route through Wyoming and Nebraska, and others felt a southern route through Texas was better because it would avoid the Rocky Mountains. Over time the Pony Express proved that the central route was passable even in winter, and Texas allied itself with the Confederacy in the Civil War, so the central route won out.
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